Whenever people complain that they can’t cook, one of the first questions I ask is “where do you do your shopping?” And nine times out of ten you find the answer to the problem right there. No amount of chefs’ tricks and fancy ways with a knife are going to disguise poor raw ingredients. If you are trying to do a Sunday roast with a battery-farmed chicken imported all the way from Thailand it’s always going to be a miserable failure. Likewise, trying to make a rich ragu sauce with tomatoes grown out of season in a heated greenhouse in Holland. Success in the kitchen always starts with careful buying.

That’s why a chef’s relationship with his supplier is so important. We are always chatting about what is good at the moment, what will be coming up soon, and what’s coming to an end. That way we stay seasonal and eat the produce when it’s at its best and cheapest.

Take the humble spud, for example. We use three types in our kitchens: Desiree or Charlotte for mashed potatoes and King Edwards for more robust dishes such as the sausage boulangère. They are your three basic, entry-level varieties. We get ours from Chris Haseldon, a man who treats his produce with the same respect that Laky, our fish supplier, accords to his line-caught sea bass. He will lightly dry them after picking and store them at a regulated temperature to control the moisture — basically, he doesn’t just treat them like a sack of potatoes. He’ll advise us three or four weeks before one crop comes to an end, and tell us what’s coming next: “This one is a bit more rustic, less waxy but with a more intense flavour,” or whatever.



My relationship with suppliers is as close as my relationship with my staff — they are an equally essential part of the team. It’s so important to involve them that we even get them to sit down and try some of the dishes to see how we are using their produce. That way they know precisely what size vegetables we are looking for, for example, or how we want our meat butchered.

I’m not suggesting you should all start inviting the manager of your local supermarket round for dinner, but it’s definitely worth seeking out the best you can find or afford — be it a proper high street butcher, your local farmers’ market or a mail-order company. You’ll find the difference in quality mind-blowing, and if you are buying direct from the producer, it doesn’t have to be that much more expensive.

To get you started, here are five of my favourite suppliers. Happy shopping.

POULTRY

For years chefs have considered poulets de Bresse the best chickens in the world, but I’m pleased to say that Chris Frederick’s Label Anglais knocks the French into a cocked hat. These Essex birds spend at least 80 days scratching away in the hedgerows of Temple Farm near Royston (the average supermarket chicken is slaughtered at 39 days), resulting in strong, rich meat that tastes the way chicken ought to. They’re not organic, and at about £10 a bird they are not cheap, but when you see the care Chris bestows on them, you know he is a supplier you can trust completely.
Label Anglais (01279 792460; www.labelanglais.co.uk)

SEAFOOD

Perhaps it’s because of my roots, but for my money you can’t buy better seafood than in Scotland. The cold waters make for slow-growing crustacean unrivalled in flavour. We’ve been using Keltic Seafare, based in Dingwall, Ross-shire, for several years now and the quality is incomparable. Its scallops are hand dived, which means there’s no dredging to destroy the seabed, and the live langoustines are all caught on dayboats, so they can be on our customers’ plates 18 hours after they were taken from the sea.
Keltic Seafare (01349 864087; www.kelticseafare.com)

DAIRY

This March, Neal’s Yard began supplying butter from Longman’s Farm to Claridges, and it’s fantastic — soft and creamy with a real buttercup flavour. Each time a fresh batch is delivered (twice weekly), you can’t help but think of those big, black and white Holstein-Friesians chewing their Somerset cud. Neal’s Yard Dairy (0207 500 7654; www.nealsyarddairy.co.uk)

MEAT

From gate to plate, I want to know everything about the meat I serve short of the animals’ actual names. Based in East Anglia, Direct Meats sources everything from local farmers it knows and trusts, actually buying the animals live and then using a small, locally run abattoir to guarantee their comfort and wellbeing. It might seem obsessive, but it’s worth it when you know that the beef you serve can be traced back to a small farm in the Dedham Vale. Direct Meats (01787 223364; www.directmeats.co.uk)

FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

As its name suggests, Wild Harvest specialises in all things wild. It imports not just mushrooms from all corners of the world, but wild bay from America, wood sorrel and seaweed . . . It also specialises in highly seasonal fruit and veg, such as truffles, tiny mara des bois strawberries and asparagus. Recently it has also added a range of specialist pastry ingredients such as pure fruit pastes and frozen purées. An absolute Aladdin’s Cave for any serious foodie. Wild Harvest (020 7498 5397;
www.wildharvestuk.com)

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